


The Main Problem

by DarkAtom



Category: BioShock Infinite
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-16
Updated: 2013-07-16
Packaged: 2017-12-15 03:56:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/845026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkAtom/pseuds/DarkAtom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everybody knew Rosalind Lutece was indifferent to almost everyone. She knew the dark secrets of Columbia, dark secrets she was trying to protect everyone from by locking herself and her brother in the labs. But how far could she go?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Work

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there :D
> 
> I've finally decided to go on and try! I finished Infinite some days ago and this idea has been bugging me since I started reading its fanfics. I'm decided to make this one long enough, but I'm not English, so feel free to dismember and correct me. In fact I would need a Beta, so If anyone's interested...
> 
> Enjoy! =)

"Rosalind?" he had just got home from a long, pleasant walk in which his sister hadn't cared in joining.

Rosalind never cared, actually. It had passed almost a year and Robert doubted he had seen her going out if it was not for business, and that seldom happened.

This time, he was decided to bring her into the sunlight. Had she ever seen her work? Her statue? Spending all her time in the labs, working... that couldn't be healthy.

"Strange..." he muttered to himself, finding the lab's door closed. "Rosalind?" he tried again, a little worried.

Where was she?

"Kitchen" was the dry answer coming from the basement.

Rosalind was sat at the table, with a cup of tea in front of her, eyes lost in the ceiling.

"Why are you here?"

"I'm bored."

"The door is closed" he said walking to her side.

What was wrong with her? She barely walked out of that room if not by necessity. That was a constant. He had found her so many times asleep over the desk that a pillow was put near just in case. So obsessed was Rosalind with her work that it didn't matter to her having the Contraption in her own bedroom.

"I know" she sighed.

"Why?"

"I'm done" she simply replied, taking the cup to her lips.

Robert understood. Rosalind tended to get obsessed with projects and, after a time of working really hard, when no result came, she would just get bored and quit it. It was unknwon if Rosalind's male counterpart was too a project, but that was a fear that Robert couldn't deny he had.

"But... we've been working so hard" he frowned, confused.

He had been able to come to Columbia thanks to a two-sided tear they had opened. Now, almost a year later, they were still trying to figure out how to repeat the result without the necessity of another machine in the wanted Universe.

"I know, dear Brother."

"Don't worry, Rosalind" he sighed, trying to comfort her with a hand in her shoulders. "Let's take a walk. It shall do you good."

"It shan't" she stood up after finishing her tea and walked to the sink. "Because I shan't be taking none this afternoon. I must talk with Mr. Comstock."

"What for?" he demanded, a little angry at her.

Robert had started to notice half a year ago that she was indifferent to almost everybody. Few people had seen her tender side of a woman, and Robert was not one of them; Comstock and Fink had. Rosalind would be specially cheery around them, enthusiastic even. Kissed them in the cheeks for a greeting, smiled at them. Robert, in the other hand, had seen  _her_. Rosalind didn't seem to care for anyone except for her beloved Brother, and still she would be quite cold and short in her speak. Maybe because she was accustomed not talking to anyone. It was just her. She needn't to show any façade with him.

And still, it annoyed him so much to see his female counterpart so coldhearted. A smile, a shared thought was all Robert was asking for.

"The Contraption."

"We could still go out when you get back..." he offered with a sad voice, not even looking at her.

Rosalind noticed that. She knew how difficult could be to live with herself, for she had experienced it living with Robert. She could see how her temperament affected him. Robert was the only man capable of understanding, a like-minded person she had dreamt about meeting for such a long time... But there were things he couldn't possibly be aware of, such the Contraption's meaning to their lives. Rosalind was so tied to the dark secrets that surrounded Columbia that was afraid of telling him. She didn't want him to leave. She needed Robert by her side. Just his presence would calm her enough to keep working.

And he didn't even knew how much did he calm her.

It was his wish, and she had been denying it for a long, long time now.

It was not fair.

"Fine" she replied, much to his surprise. "A little evening walk can do no harm, can it?"

* * *

Robert waited patiently in their parlor, trying to ignore the closed laboratory. His curiosity was trying to push him to open the door and see what was upsetting her Sister. Rosalind could be cold to him, but all Robert wanted was to fix it so she could finish it and spend more time exploring their differences.

Painting was all he could do in such a state. It made his mind to fly away and attached his body to the canvas, so no silly thing could happen.

_Just wait for her. Out in the street, she'll tell you._

Robert was so excited. He couldn't believe it was finally happening! His beloved Sister out in the street with no purpose but to enjoy herself. Rosalind needed to learn how to do that; enjoy things. He would teach her, Robert decided. Then maybe she'd be more open with her thoughts. They'd learn from each other, share a proper living identity like it should be shared.

The clock was striking seven when Rosalind appeared. Robert was already waiting in the hall.

"How did it go?" he asked politely, not wishing to change her mind on the deal.

"Not fine" a sad smile she gave him. "He wants to see it. I told him the Contraption was not ready. Still, he wants me to show him."

"Ready for what?" was the right question. A frighten look conquered her usually indifferent-to-everything eyes.

"Nothing" Rosalind was already half up the stairs.

"I thought you were going out with me tonight" Robert pointed the door, trying to ignore her too quickly  _Nothing._

"I'm tired."

Now, he was annoyed.

"Is tired, was tired, will be tired" he spat. "I'm here for you everyday, I work as much as you do, I  _love science_  as much as you do for we are and not the same person. You won't even tell me what is going on and I'm fine with it! I just want to  _get you_  out there to show me the wonderful things you have created, to remind you that a little joy is good for work too. We made a deal, Rosalind. Now, if you're going to be a sore partner, then I shan't do this again."

"Now, that sophistry" she said without thinking.

Suddenly, Robert's looked worried. He started climbing the stairs to her.

"Rosalind, are you alright?"

"Yes, why?" she frowned.

"Your nose... It's bleeding."

"Nonsense; that's impossible" but there was the blood in her fingers when she touched her mouth.

"Rosalind!" she heard Robert cry just before everything went black before her eyes.


	2. An Unwelcome Visitor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Thank you for reading (and leave a review, the ones who does, did and will)! I'm very excited about this one.
> 
> Oh, and a thank-you to DefinateStorm too, my new Beta! She helps me so much.

Robert held Rosalind before she could fall down the stairs. They used to keep the distance but the moment required it, so he took her in his arms and carried her to his bedroom, feeling awkward for being so lose to her. He had experienced those kinds of fainting in his own body, all of them because of the famous Contraption. Maybe she was too exposed to it and it was affecting her; after all, the machine occupied two whole floors in the house, including her bedroom. Robert was not going to let it affect his sister anymore. Not until she recovered at least.

"Robert..." she muttered. "What has happened...?"

She was awake a minute after fainting, but the room was dizzy and confusing.

"You fainted." he informed her softly. "Your nose was bleeding."

"But that's..."

"Nonsense, I know." he put Rosalind in the bed and forced her under the sheets. "You must rest."

"I'm alright." she replied trying to get up.

"Dear Sister," he began putting her down again, "as much as I do admire your strength, you are still human. You'll die if you don't rest properly every now and then." Rosalind couldn't argue with that. "Besides, the reason for you bleeding is still unknwon."

"Something tells me, dear Brother, that you are curious about it." a genuine smile ran across her face, making Robert blink in surprise. "We are not that different."

She could tell by his intrigued look that he was dying to know more.

"We are the same person, Rosalind." he agreed, standing. "I'll fetch your nightgown."

"This is not necessary." she sighed. "It has stopped. Sometimes people bleed and it doesn't always mean anything."

"Don't move." He was as stubborn as she was, she noticed that. He cared about her as much as she did about him.

 _Robert may be right_ , Rosalind thought to herself, finding that the warm bed was, in fact, comforting her.  _I might need to rest... He won't stop until I do, after all._

"A theory: maybe the..." started Robert walking into the room, but Morfeo had conquered her a while ago.

Half supported against the headboard, asleep with the head fallen towards one side, Rosalind seemed as calm as a baby. He couldn't wake her up knowing how much did she need that rest. Rosalind would complain in the morning, but it didn't matter to him; she would see the point, eventually.

The vest and the hairpins were removed and the corset unlazed with tenderness. Sitting on a armchair placed next to the comforter, Robert dispossed the handkerchiefs (just in case) on the bedside table, as she used during his ' _illness_ ', and the notebook. Robert wanted to take care of her like she had with him in the past; notes, both loved them, would keep her in the bed. It would because they shared the passion for theories.

* * *

It was late at night when a knock came from the main door.

She stirred from the bed, feeling as if Heaven had lulled her all night. Half asleep and with nobody looking, she could drop her strong-woman-face and smiled at the sweet feeling of a good night of sleep. Robert was sleeping in the same armchair she herself had slept in during his sickness, surrounded by pens and notes. Judging by the blood on his hands and the handkerchiefs, she supposed the bleeding had started again at some point. She sighed, delighted, and was about to get back in the bed when another knock caught her attention.

She had forgotten what had awaken her in the first place.

It wasn't until she reached the bedroom's door that the state of her dress was revealed. It wasn't proper to recieve an unwelcome visitor at such late hour of the night like that. She looked around, trying to find something that would fit in the situation. Her nightgown was still over the bed.

 _Now, this is better for a lady_ , she thought looking at her sleepy reflection in Robert's mirror.

She didn't care for etiquette as most people did, but it was easier to deal with them if she followed their social rules. She thought of it as of any other mathematical law: you can't turn a number into a variable without some steps in the middle, some sacrifices are needed first. Time, if mathematics. Looks, if social enviroment.

"Miss Lutece!" the urgent voice of the Prophet calling her.

 _Miss_  because she hadn't married, but most people used  _Madame_  or  _Mistress_  instead, showing respect. She sighed; Mr Comstock was everything but respectful to her.

"Prophet." she greeted, opening the front door. "It's two in the morning." a yawn escaped her mouth and she tried to disguise it in the politest way.

"Why, were you sleeping? I thought resting was not an option for you." Comstock mocked.

Rosalind tried her best to remain as calm as she was before, but it was difficult. It seemed that Robert was always there to help her, for his words came to her mind just in time:

"As much as people admire my strength, Mr Comstock, I'm still human. I need a rest every now and them as everybody else." she said with a petulant smile on her face.

"Oh, I see. May I come in?" He entered without waiting for an answer.

"Does Lady Comstock know you are here?"

"As I said, I thought you would be up to some experiment. I'm here for business" he was looking around as if a tear would appear from the void.

"And I said it is  _not_  ready!" that was it. Her calmess flew trough the window. "It's not been tested yet. There are arrangements to be done, tests I have to perform before I can even try it!"

And, the most important, she wanted to show Robert what he had done. She could be cold but definitely not blind; he was the one who had been caring for her no matter what.

"Well, then. Test it now."

"What?" her eyes opened in surprise.

"Go on; test it now. Time is gold, they say, and my gold is people seeing the light."

"But... Robert..." for the first time, she didn't know what to say. Should she reveal her true desires? Robert had done so much for her, waited so long for time to spend together... He deserved more than anyone to see the fruits of his work. It  _was_  his work, after all, taking care of her and helping her, fixing the equations that made the Contraption possible when she got upset. She needed him more than anything.

Rosalind wanted to share the first oneside travelable tear with Robert and only him, not Comstock.

"I thought he was the product of the experiment, dear" the Prophet caressed her face, but she stepped away. "He's just a result of your great work and nothing more."

"I'm not comfortable with this. I must inform him. He has worked as much as I have this year. He deserves to know -"

"To know nothing. Or would you like your statue replaced by a male one?" he raised an elbrow.

"It wouldn't matter" she crossed her arms in front of her. "It would still represent me."

"That's not what my sheep would think." She sighed. "Come on, Ms Lutece. Show it to me." taking her hand, he forced her down the hall to the lab door.

"I'm sick. I should go back to bed. Maybe tomorrow..." she tried.

"It'll be a moment" insisted the Prophet with a voice that wouldn't accept a  _no_.

"You'll have to wait while I fix some variables." She sighed again.

"I don't care." he smiled menacingly, knowing he had won.

* * *

Around three in the morning the noises of a machinery began. Startled, Robert tried to wake Rosalind, worried that something she could have been working on lately was about to explode, but she was not in bed.

"Rosalind?" he called, but the buzzing was too loud for anyone to hear him.

And then, a scream. A scream of joy followed by a male voice. It couldn't be, could it? A man in their house so late at night? A lover? Rosalind didn't have any lovers, but she seemed happy so it wasn't a burglar.

Why didn't she wake him?

"Did you see that?" was Rosalind screaming as excited as a child with a new toy. "Did you see that? It worked! The tear! It worked!"

"I see it, dear" he laughed.

Robert couldn't believe his ears. What was the famous shepherd of Columbia doing in their laboratory at three in the morning? Lady Comstock had stopped him months ago in the streets, saying something about an affair between his Sister and her husband, but Rosalind had laughed at that. Really laughed. For days.

Spying on them was not the best idea, but what else could he do in such a situation?

"Lord..." he murmured when Rosalind hugged the Prophet.

"I can't believe it worked" she was literally jumping, looking at something that Robert couldn't see, but it was bright enough to illuminate the room. "But it did. Aren't you happy? This is what you wanted" she smiled at Zachary Comstock and he nodded.

"Columbia is content with your results." said Mr Comstock politely. "This is something to be proud of, Miss Lutece. It's a shame, your children would have been proud as well."

"What are you insinuating?" Oh, Robert knew his Sister's moods and that was not the right path with her. Upset Rosalind was a scary Rosalind.

"I'm just saying that if I were you, I would like my seed to continue my work."

"I am not ashamed of my decisions." she replied sharply.

"Oh, no, dear Rosalind. I'm sure that you are perfectly happy with your lifestyle. Mine, in the contrary, needs some assurance. I'm getting old but God's plans are not yet finished. Your windows have showed me my destiny: My seed will continue His desire and save the Sodom below from its sins. That's why I came here tonight; because I need you."

Robert could not hide his surprise. Lady Comstock was right! But... how? Why? No, no... the delicious question was  _when_ , when did it begin and for how long?

"That would be a decision I could be... " she stumbled, but Comstock held her close.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm sick, I told you before" she narrowed her eyes at him. "Is my nose bleeding?"

"Ehm... yes."

"Oh, Lord..."

"Rosalind!" Comstock set her body to the floor slowly. "Rosalind, wake up."

Robert saw the man kissing his Sister's lips lightly and he couldn't take it anymore. No one was going to take advantage of her. He rushed into the room quickly.

"I heard screams" he needed an excuse for the sudden interruption. "What happened?"

"Robert..." Rosalind was in the world of the living again and searched for his hand, which Robert didn't deny her. "Look at that" she pointed to the wall.

So that was all the mistery about: a tear. A tear that was not showing the same old picture of a museum but the streets of San Francisco. And the snow... the snow was falling through the tear and melting on the floor.

It was important, amazing even, but it wasn't the most important thing in that room at the moment. He turned to Rosalind with a frown on his face, "What were you thinking? You are _sick_ , you need to rest" Robert reproached her.

"I..." started Mr Comstock, only to be cut by the male counterpart of Rosalind, who was really upset.

"Yes, you." He snapped, "Did you do this? Couldn't you just wait? Goddamit, get the hell out of my house! You've done enough harm!"

"Robert!" Rosalind yelled, scared of Comstock's possible reaction to such offensive language. But there was nothing to worry about, for the Prophet just looked at him with a neutral mask on his face.

"I understand that you are worried about your...  _Sister_ , so I will forgive your outburst." Mr Comstock stood. "I forgive you your sins, son." And then he left.


	3. The World Outside

They were sat at the table in the kitchen with cups full of now cold tea in front of them. Neither had spoken to one another in half an hour.

"He kissed you." Robert was the first to break the silence.

"I don't remember that." she replied quickly.

"You fainted, and... he kissed you. Why?" Rosalind sighed. "Are you having an affair with him?"

"What? No." she laughed. "Why would I? You've been talking to Lady Comstock again, haven't you?"

"Rosalind, this is serious. He took advantage of you while you were unconscious, and I'm sure he would not have done that if he wasn't confident that you would..." Robert took her hand across the table. "Does this have something to do with that period of time in which we didn't speak?"

When Columbia flew into the skies, Rosalind took their atom with her. She warned Robert that she wouldn't be able to talk with him through the Morse Code while the city was settled and such, but she never really told him why it took so much time.  _It'll be matter of days, dear Robert. Don't worry_ , she wrote in the atom, but months passed before they spoke again.

"Robert..." she started. "I... have done things. Things that I don't regret but you wouldn't approve." She was, in part, relieved to finally share this with him. She had wanted to tell him all about her life previous to the first windowed-tear for a very long time.

Robert took a moment to understand her words before asking the dreaded question. It just gave him pain to think about his sister –  _myself_ , he thought – in that way.

"Did you...  _sleep_  with him?" he didn't know any way to put it lightly.

" _Them_ , would be more appropriate." She murmured. Robert lifted his look to gaze at her in horror. "But no, I didn't  _sleep_  with them."she added quickly. "There was not a carnal implication of that kind."

"But there  _were_  some carnal implications."

She nodded, "There was."

He hissed in disgust and turned to the doorway slowly. There  _was_  a carnal implication, but for what? For funds? That was almost prostitution!

"I-It was necessary, Robert... I wanted to meet you." She explained quickly, but he wasn't paying attention to her anymore.

"Do you think the tear in my London's lab will still be open?" he didn't want to hear what she had to say. The question caught her by surprise, but not because of the its suddenness, but for the fact that his voice was so emotionless that any Fink's shop would envy it.

"Probably. Why?" she asked, confused.

"I don't know what you are playing at, but I don't want to take part in it." He spat. "I'm leaving tomorrow morning."

"Robert!" she exclaimed, trying to reach him but he was already climbing the stairs to the main floor. "I know I made a mistake I should have told you about it, but - ! " she started to explain in vain.

"These are not the terms I came here under, Rosalind." said Robert turning to look at her with the most hurt look she had ever seen. "I find this...  _your_  life style, disagreeable. I'm sorry, sister, but I won't live your lie anymore."

The darkness hid the new stream of blood that was mixing with tears that rolled down her cheeks silently.

* * *

Rosalind knew that there was no turning back. She wished to talk to him and explain the things she should have told him before. But the next day, Robert was nowhere to be seen. Evidence of his decision, on the contrary, were all around the place. A small suitcase was near the lab's door, with his jacket and hat on the chair next to it. The bedroom she had dispossed for him over a year ago had been emptied during the night, even the sheets had been removed and thrown for laundry.

She stood on the hallway looking at the lab's door. Then, she looked to the main door, and again to the lab's. Robert was probably out, saying  _Farewell_  to the Columbia she didn't know. He was so emotional... She once had been, but not anymore. Then again, he hadn't been through what she had. Five years had passed since, when her naivety and her work had attracted a senator who was willing to invest in her work. She used to enjoy long walks and music too, but now all that remained was an old gramophone during her work.

Rosalind knew Robert wouldn't come back until late on the evening, maybe to avoid her, but she needed to explain herself further on the Comstock matter. She didn't want him to leave without having all the data, that would be a foolish action.

Now, she had two options: she could wait for him, risking to miss his entrance by falling asleep over the work, or she could go out and try to find him. It made her dizzy; thinking of going outside. She had never been there before. Well, she had stepped outside to meet Comstock at his house, but she knew that road like the back of her hand and a book was always held by it. Reading took her mind away, so it didn't count. And, of course, the video shoot for the kinetiscopes, but even then an equation was always on her eyes.

Now that she thought about it, she couldn't remember Emporia at all.

Moved by her sudden innate scientific curiosity, she opened the main door and stepped outside. A warm breeze caressed her neck, throwing shivers down her spine. Good shivers.

There was too much space for her unaccustomed eyes, used to be inside a room of constant length. She closed the door, deciding that this new environment needed further investigation, for the Contraption inside the lab had no importance without Robert by her side, working hand in hand.

Each step brought her nearer to the pavement. A couple passed by and greeted her. Their surprise was evident.

"Mrs. Lutece." Said the man, touching his hat. The woman smiled and turned to her companion to speak in a lower tone, probably for gossip. Good gossiping, Rosalind hoped.

Did she know them? She couldn't remember.

"Madame Lutece!" a yell stopped her half way through the last step of the staircase her. "Madame Lutece! Would you sign it for me? Please!"

A child was begging her, looking up at her with so much excitement in her eyes that Rosalind was reminded of herself in front of the very first lab of her own. The girl carried a book in her hands and was giving it to her.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry for the interruption, Ms Lutece. Anthony Copper." Anthony shook her hand. "We didn't want to interrupt you. Sarah, honey, don't disturb the lady." Said the man who had accompanied her, perhaps thinking that Rosalind's disoriented look was a expression of annoyance. Judging by their clothes, their family wasn't one of the richest.

"Please?" tried Sarah again with big tearful eyes.

"It's alright." she took the book.

Rosalind was surprised to find her name on the cover. Was this little girl reading  _her_  physics books? She found it improbable that anyone would read them, let alone a girl named 'Sarah'.

Two pairs of eyes were looking at her waiting for some reaction.

"It's... my book." she tried, not sure of what to say.

"Yes!" Sarah smiled. "I've read all of them! Well... almost all of them." she blushed.

"Sarah's been reading those books of yours I can't understand but... she enjoys them, so I buy them for her when there is spare money..." explained Mr. Copper.

A warm feeling filled Rosalind's heart at the hearing of those words.

"Come in." she said without giving it a second thought, getting back to the porch.

"But, Ms. Lutece..." began the father.

"Really!?" Sarah was already in the door. Rosalind found herself giggling.

"It won't take much," she said to Sarah's father. "I... didn't expect  _this_ , but Sarah seems enthusiastic about physics and I want to reward that. Is that alright for you?"

"O-Of course."

"Great." she smiled politely, as usual.

Rosalind felt, of course she felt, but she wasn't as good as Robert at showing it. She lead Sarah and her father to her parlor, where racks full of books were resting on the wall.

"Pardon the disorder." said the physicist, noticing now why Robert complained about it.

"It's okay ..." the man couldn't believe the amount of things she had. "We get you are a busy woman."

"I am."

"Daddy, look at those!" Sarah was pointing at some books dangerously near to the door that lead to the laboratory. "Look at them!"

"That is private" said Rosalind, reaching the knobs and closing them quietly. There was some things she didn't want to show.

"Sarah, behave yourself!" Mr. Copper reproached the girl.

"Sorry, Madame Lutece." said the girl going back to the side of his father.

Rosalind sighed and looked for a pen. Once found, she signed the book's first page: ' _Follow your dreams, young Sarah Copper, and one day you'll write books like this one. ~ Rosalind Lutece_.' That was the best advice she could give her.

"Oh, my God!" she exclaimed when she read it. "Thank you so much!"

"Sarah! That isn't proper for a young lady like yourself."

"I'm... sorry?" Sarah didn't know what she'd done wrong this time, but it was best to keep him happy so she could spend more time with her heroine.

"This is my collection of books" said Rosalind, never minding the father. "And these are written by me." she pointed to the ones in the lower part. "Do you find any that you don't have?"

"That one!" she screamed. "There weren't anymore in the shop!"

"Is that the one you searched for, Sarah?" asked his father with his usual soft voice, full of love and care for her daughter. Rosalind felt slightly jealous.

"Yes, yes it is!"

"Well, then, I'll see what I can do to get you a copy." said Rosalind nodding. "And now, If you excuse me, I have commitments to attend to. Shall we?"

"Of course, of course. Come on, Sarah, it is time for us to leave now." said Mr. Copper.

"Thank you so much, Madame Lutece!" smiled the little girl lifting the book the physicist had just signed for her.

"You welcome. Ehm..." she followed them to the exit; she had forgotten why did she go outside in the first place. "May I ask you a question?" she asked, closing the main door with her key once in the porch. "It may seem an odd question, but... Well, Robert – my brother – he told me -"

"Oh, do you have a brother? I have one too! Is he a scientist like yourself?" cut Sarah, excited.

"Let her finish, darling."

"Yes, I have a brother. And yes, he is a brilliant physicist." Sarah let out an amazed ' _ooooh_ ', the girl was curious, Rosalind couldn't deny that. Oddly, she didn't find it annoying as she would have in other circumstances. She didn't know why. "He said I have a... statue? I am sure I will find him there, but I don't recall being said of where it was situated..."

"Have you been living under a stone?" the ten year-old giggled. "Of course there is a statue! It is down in Main Street."

Mr .Copper sighed, his daughter, who seemed so proud of knowing something that Rosalind didn't, was incorrigible.

"Oh, well, thank you." Rosalind felt embarrassed. She wasn't used to being so...  _ignorant_.

"Hope I may see you again, Madame Lutece!" the girl smiled.

"Good morning, Ms. Lutece." added her dad, leading Sarah up the street.

"What a strange meeting." smiled Rosalind to herself, feeling kind of high on the experience.

* * *

Jeremiah Fink saw himself as a lion, a big, powerful beast capable of running the jungle beneath his sight. He was not the biggest one, and that was annoying. A city like Columbia needed more than just a spiritual shepherd, it needed someone to lead them in the victory over the Sodom below, something more than words and feelings. Columbia needed a factory, military equipment. And although so far he had managed to give them that. Jeremiah Fink still wanted more.

All that nonsense of the Sodom and the lamb were things he didn't care for. Workers were cattle, and the hyenas were enemies. Once the hyenas were extinct, the cattle would be free to follow the lion (And he would be that lion). It was going to be like a trade: the Sodom would be destroyed and Jeremiah would be rich.

But, of course, there was the Lutece problem.

Fink had met Rosalind long before her  _twin_  had come to Columbia. She was already a beautiful, yet cold, lady who didn't enjoy the company of others. He had heard even more about her when the shepherd of Columbia started looking for someone to build the machinery that Ms. Lutece needed to lift the city into the air. It sounded impossible, but the description had nothing to do with the reality.

Then the tears appeared all throughout Columbia. There were reports of people seeing them, hearing things. They were knocking at her door, sending her telegrams. She was  _one of the great minds_  of the city, the most important physicist! She should know, right? But she didn't appear. and she didn't say a word about the matter but, slowly, the tears disappeared.

Except one, at Fink's brother music studio. And then the success came for him.

Jeremiah was successful, but he wanted more. He didn't care that Rosalind couldn't see the lioness resting within herself (the less the better, in fact). He had convinced Zachary Comstock of the necessity and he compelled her to create a tear for the factory.

Time passed by, Zachary Comstock was hanging from his little finger and Rosalind Lutece was nowhere to be seen. There was already a small part of Columbia who needed him as much as the Shepherd did, and that was Shanty Town. The progress was slow, but steady.

And yet, Jeremiah Fink needed more.

When Zachary Comstock shared a tea and the news of a new success of the Lutece field with him, the goal was clear again: a travelable tear was needed this time in order to bring new goods to Columbia. At least, that was what he was going to tell Rosalind Lutece to convince her. Zachary was not an option anymore, it would have to be done by himself.

... or maybe Robert Lutece could do the job?

He decided, and started his way out of his empire to the streets of Columbia to find them. They were most likely at the laboratory.

He headed to Emporia and was surprised to find Rosalind Lutece herself staring at a sign down the street. Could he be any luckier?

"Ms. Lutece." he greeted.

"Mr. Fink." she said, surprised by his sudden presence.

He stopped next to her. The sign was a map of Columbia. Didn't this woman know her own city?

"What a rare occasion to find you out of the lab." he showed a omnipotent smile.

Rosalind decided it was best to be polite with such an arrogant man, though it was difficult to control her temper with this one in particular.

"It is a lovely day." she replied as calm as she was able to, still searching which street should she turn to.

"Indeed, it is." Mr. Fink complied.

"Is there something you need?" she turned to look at him when, after a while, he was still looking at her.

"I've been informed of your...  _little_  success. Congratulations."

"Which one?" she smiled, knowing how much would it annoy him.

"The latest." he grunted.

"Oh, that one" she nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Fink."

Neither of them was stupid. Fink knew that Rosalind knew what he wanted, and she knew this as well but she was not giving up. Her devices where not on sale. Comstock had convinced her once and the repentance came after. Handyman, Skylines, exploitation... Her creations were used to control people, and she didn't like that.

She felt too controlled already.

Rosalind was about to resume her walk when a hand gripped her wrist and forced her to look at Fink. He closed the gap between them. She looked around, but the street was empty.

"What do you think you are doing?" she looked back at him, denying him the pleasure of seeing her cry.

"I want one of those tears, Rosalind, and I won't stop until I get one." he hissed near to her face.

"You shan't get any, now let me go!" she struggled but Fink was stronger.

"It would cover a need, woman, and I have no problem in having  _you_  covering  _other_ needs of mine." His menacing words were sufficient to make her wince and tremble.

"Mr. Fink!" a voice that was not hers broke the moment. It was Reverend Montgomery, a priest highly known by his pure intent to helping people – white people that is. "I was told Greed was your darkest sin, but I didn't imagine that Lust would be on the list!"

"Father Montgomery." Fink smiled letting Rosalind go reluctantly. It could cost him his reputation if his actual intents were discovered. "I'm afraid there's been a misunderstanding here. I would  _never_ hurt Ms. Lutece. In fact, I was holding her from falling." It was a lie, a polite lie.

"I hope it happened that way, Mr. Fink. God wouldn't be pleased to find Wrath on your soul as well."

Religion was one of the pillars in Columbia's society. Talking further would only bring him problems.

"If you excuse me." he touched his hat and walked away.

"Are you alright?" the Reverend turned to Rosalind, who had been staring silently at the two men.

"Yes." she nodded, rubbing her wrist. It hurt.

"You should see a doctor. I'll walk you." he offered.

"There is no need, Father." she smiled, but Reverend Montgomery insisted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my beta: DefinateStorm. What would I do without you?


	4. Emerald Ink

Robert Lutece felt terrible, and he knew Rosalind would be feeling as bad as him, which made it even worse. He had not intended to outburst like he had, yelling and leaving their home, slamming the door after him. He knew that ire he had was a terrible defect he had to fix. The lonely years in his lab back in New York, alone with nothing more than a machine that couldn't work because there wasn't enough money to finish it, had led him to release his anger without control by means of destruction. And destruction led to explosives, explosives that now held Columbia into the air.

Of course, Rosalind had invented them too in her universe, but she had learnt to control herself, a control so tight she couldn't even feel anymore. Somehow, he envied that. After all, Rosalind was the proof of what would have happened if he had learnt too. He would have succeeded as she did.

Was that all the point? To demonstrate that she was better than him? No, she –  _they_  wouldn't do that to themselves. It was cruel.

But he did feel like a failure looking at Columbia. He did feel like a laboratory rat. He had done nothing worthy like Rosalind had. That was one of the reasons he wanted to leave for; he felt he was nothing but a load for her work.

He didn't want to hurt his sister, he wanted to apologize and explain why he needed to leave her side. Knowing Rosalind, she had only one way to deal with break and it was not healthy. Robert could picture her in the lab, working and not dealing with the feelings he was sure she had, trying to block all in the back of her brain as if nothing really mattered.

When he reached home, to his surprise, she wasn't in the laboratory. She was nowhere in the house.

 _She may have gone to deal with something about work_ , Robert sighed, looking at his suitcase.

There was nothing left to pack.

He climbed the stairs and looked at the small corridor. Four wooden doors greeted him. The one in front of the stairs led to Rosalind's bedroom. The one to the right led to  _his_ bedroom. Further in the left there was the bathroom, and to the bottom, one could found a closed door which, to be sincere, he didn't know what hided. Rosalind never told him, she had said: ' _There is nothing inside that room. So, it is closed._ ' But he doubted that was the real reason.

 _If I'm going to leave soon..._  he thought caressing thoughtfully his chin.  _At least I'll know something more about my female counterpart... it can't be that wrong._

* * *

The more she walked, the more lost she became. It was almost three in the afternoon already and her feet felt like being torn apart by a million little sharp pieces of glass. Those were not the correct shoes for such a trip, but there was nothing to be done either.

Rosalind stopped in front of the Lutece Laboratories and sighed, gasping for air. She had seen half of Columbia before getting back where she had started, but no statue was found in her way. In fact, she had lost the hour were the platform aligned with the Main Street's one, being force to take one of the airships to get there, but the driver had misunderstand her directions and ended up in the Hall of Heroes. She had not enough money to get a trip back, so walk became the more suitable option.

At the thought of ' _I must reach Emporia_ ', her nose had started bleeding again much to the subsequent horror of the people around her. But, thanks to an entity she had not decided yet to believe in, there was no faint sensation after that and so she was glad.

The house was silent, small dots of dust fulfilling the air que that revealed a presence upstairs. She was not one to bother about the dust. It tended to happened after large work sessions at the black board. They had a maid for that who would take care, a maid that that day had seemed to decide not appear at her work.

 _ **I**_ _have a maid_ , she remembered, for soon she would be alone.

The steps, the ones she had recognized as her Brother's were lost at the top of the stairs. She followed them. A chill ran through her as she saw the door to her room of secrets opened. How Robert had been able to enter was a mystery.

Rosalind approached the door quietly, trying not to startle him. He was sitting in the chair in the middle of the room, reading a journal she used to carry with her before they met. Diary, perhaps was the more suitable name for the album. There were no big secrets in there, just the ones people shouldn't know about. Maybe the proper act would have been to burn them along with the photos and letters, but their sentimental value was too high for even considering such a thing.

"I loved him." she said quietly, reaching his side. "But I was not corresponded."

Robert jumped and looked back at her with a worried look.

"I-I'm sorry" he stood, trying to apologize for something that she didn't care for any longer. "I didn't mean to intrude... "

"Don't." she simply replied. "You are leaving." she nodded, her voice almost breaking at the thought. "The point of the experiment was to know each other. I have not been fair to that. Sit."

He complied. With an awkward move, she flipped all the remaining sheets to show him the last one. There was no photo or note there, but a single paper held together by paper clips. It was a letter. The words were neat, written in an emerald ink that conserved part of its king's sheen even after so many years.

Robert recognized the sign at the first look.

"Read it." was the quiet request of his Sister when he turned doubtfully to look at her.

It was harsh. Mr. Comstock begged for forgiveness from Rosalind. He said that he felt honored by her feelings, but they were not returned. Hewas engaged to a young lady who also loved him, as if to say that Rosalind Lutece was no lady. He apologized for maybe sending the wrong signs and remembered her in the inscrutable ways of the Lord.

"Comstock used you." Robert finally said closing the album. "You... loved him and he..."

"Quiet" Robert was raging, his voice rising to a dangerous tone. If he didn't like the Prophet already, the revelation was not making it better. A hand on his shoulder was enough to bring him to the reality of the precarious social situation. "There is no point in upsetting yourself, Robert. The past the is past and it must remain closed in here. I shall make some tea."

He sat there, barely breathing, peering at the album with fury harvesting in his soul. Oh, Rosalind did feel indeed. She felt so much that the fall had been catastrophic the last time. As her past she was trapped in her fears. He didn't reproach her. Loving a powerful person who gives you all of your needs, shows interest in your passions, spends all their time with you... She was so young back then, so naïve too. Love had been a riddle so far, she had written in the notes scattered between the photos, and then she found him. Comstock had played with her, made her believe she was corresponded. Small gifts here and there. Flowers, chocolate... Did Lady Comstock know about this?

No doubt Rosalind only shared her thoughts regarding 'work'.

Robert found her in the kitchen, waiting for the water to boil with an empty look.

"I now understand," he gently took her hand, caressing its frame with sadness in every word. "that they stole away your smile and that is why you can not anymore. But, I will bring it back for you, dear Rosalind so you can smile again and enjoy the life you deserve."

She looked at him with a small blush on her cheeks, and looked down at their united hands with a small embarrassed smile. Robert was so kind, so different from Comstock. She had feared them to be the same kind of man. Her mother used to say that one falls in love with their similar, so it was logical to think that her male counterpart would be something like the Prophet was. The empirical proves, in the other hand, showed the contrary by themselves.

"What happened to your wrist?" he asked suddenly with a frown, having not noticed the bandage before.

"Oh, that..." she sighed. Robert was a man, after all. Men needed to have everything explained to them. She loved that; having someone to talk to and explain the ridiculous little details they both felt passionate about, but sometimes it was just tiresome. "I was searching for you... out there..." she pointed with her other hand to the ceiling. "Fink ran into me for a disgusting encounter."

"What did he want?" he scowled even deeper.

"A tear." she sighed sitting at the table. The concerned look her Brother carried was making her uncomfortable. She needed no knight to protect her.

"A tear? What for?"

She shrank.

* * *

It was late at night when a cry woke him. The instinct led him to Rosalind's bedroom, fear boiling through his veins like a beast ready to attack the invader. The door flew open as he stepped in the dark of her chambers.

"Rosalind?"

"Don't, please..." she was sobbing in her dreams, the sheets of the bed wrapping around her fragile body. "DeWitt, don't!" she yelled. "It shan't – it shall  _not_  wipe away the debt!"

Robert laughed. Even in her dreams she was still the domineering know-it-all.

"Rosalind" he sat at her side in the bed and whispered gently. She punched him and tried to escape, but his firm hold was too strong for her.

"ROSALIND." shaking her she opened her crying eyes.

"Don't touch me! Leave him alone!" she fought.

"It's me." he tried again, pushing Rosalind into an embrace knowing that was the only thing besides time that could bring her back to reality.

"R-Robert?" her voice was so weak, so full of tears, so frightened... like a lost child in the middle of the forest.

"It's me." he repeated hugging her. "It was a nightmare."

"It wasn't." she denied. "It wasn't, Robert" she cried into his shoulder.

"You were dreaming. You are allowed to do that, you know?" he balanced her in his arm tenderly, with the care of someone who sees the other like an equal.

She shook her head again.

"My nose is bleeding. I have been thinking, Robert" she said leaving his embrace. "During the walk I bled again – but I did not faint." she quickly answered the question on his eyes. "Our empirical knowledge about this matter refers only to the Contraption. I had Dr. Jerrell look at my nose. The blood vessel's are not damaged."

"Are you a Rosalind from another dimension?" he asked without believing his own statement.

"I have not traveled through a tear, dear Brother, if that is your question. You do know that currently that is impossible without someone opening one to us there. The possibilities are..."

"Who is DeWitt?" he interrupted. Rosalind was starting to calculate said possibilities. In her altered state it would do no good to her health. DeWitt didn't either.

But her face still went blank when she heard the name.

"Booker... DeWitt?" she asked staring at the void. "I – I..." her eyes widened at sudden realization. The dream came to her mind instantly, filling her mind with horrible, vivid images of things that had not happened.

 _Yet_ , yelled something in her mind.

"We have to leave. Right now."

She jumped out of the bed and ran to her dresser as Robert lit a candle. She was pulling dresses out at a frenetic speed.

"But... what about the Contraption?" he asked confused. "I don't understand what..."

"There is no time for explanations, Robert." she turned to him and cupped his face into her hands, managing to her his full attention. "You are in severe danger here, we both are. Do you understand that?" Tears were rolling down her cheek and they started to break his heart. "As long as I am alive, no harm will ever happen to you, as I know you would not let it happen to me. We are together in this. I know I have been not fair to you. I am sorry I did not tell you about my... affairs concerning Comstock, but your – our – security is far more important than those nonsense about feelings." She stood. "Now, start the generators so we can..."

"Calm down." he said with worry, standing now too. "There is no danger, Rosalind. And you are bleeding again. I think you are hallucinating... You need rest." he tried to pull her back to bed.

"No! You don't understand, Comstock, he will...!" Just as she said the words, a sleepy fog clouded her mind and she knew she would faint this time. A last sudden fear escaped her lips before parting to Morfeo's hands. "Don't leave me alone... please... don't leave me  _here..._ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave a comment =D
> 
> Thanks to my beta: DefinateStorm.


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